Precision medicine in oncology

Digital technology will start the transformation of available cancer care methods on the market. Personalized oncology is becoming available through start-ups and companies such as Foundation Medicine and SmartPatients.

Foundation Medicine aims to bring cancer genomics to cancer care. It provides information about patient-specific cancer treatments based on DNA-tests. SmartPatients tries to change cancer care with patient empowerment through an online community.

There are significant advances in immunotherapy which might launch a new era of treating cancer. Liquid biopsy was the big thing in 2016 and now it’s becoming more accessible for patients worldwide. The technology has limitations, but it’s getting better. For example, the blood sample should be obtained before a chemotherapy and it’s hard to detect cancer cells. Precision medicine is changing the old model of treating cancer: instead of canons, we start using sniper rifles.